A beach in Montenegro made history after announcing plans to open a beach exclusively for women who wear hijabs and burkinis. This would make it the first beach in the Adriatic Sea to cater exclusively to Muslim women.
The new hijabi-only beach in Montenegro is a welcome sign of inclusivity https://t.co/mZXHQjt2QI pic.twitter.com/8sUf19lbXn
— I Am Because He Is (@iypmgt) July 2, 2024
The management of Pearl Beach in the southern coastal city of Ulcinj announced last June that they opened the first beach exclusively for women who wear hijab. A TikTok video posted on the beach’s official account shows a well-signposted area with a tall privacy area around it and about 20 beach loungers.
“All visitors should adhere to the rules and customs prevailing in this area. Ulcinj is one of the favorite places for summer holidays, and the beach designated for women in hijab will contribute to the inclusiveness of the city,” the advertisement for the dedicated area read.
Although the city, which was once a pirate fortress on the Adriatic Sea, already has a designated women-only beach, it’s not suitable for hijabis as other beachgoers can observe the area from the outside, which would violate Islamic modesty rules.
Spent my last day in Montenegro, in the city of Ulcinj. Almost 70% of the city's inhabitants are Muslims, due to it's close proximity with Albania. Bosnians & Kosovans make up the community too. Lot more mosques & halal restaurants here. pic.twitter.com/PuJkhx1ATr
— Abdul Hamid Faruki (@TjpAbdul) October 24, 2023
With the new hijabi-only beach in Ulcinj, the city will likely become a popular tourist attraction for female beachgoers, both from Montenegro and overseas, as instances of violence and harassment against female Muslim beachgoers at Montenegrin beach resorts are on the rise.
In one such incident in 2023, a Kuwaiti hijabi and her family were targeted when they were sprayed with alcohol from a hotel balcony. Another incident involved a man verbally abusing a female teenager wearing a burkini, a swimsuit that covers the whole body except the face, hands, and feet, and preventing her from entering a pool in a resort. The man’s excuse for barring the teenager was because “he hates Muslims” and even claimed that “300 guests objected to the burkini.”
The opening of the hijab-only beach in Ulcinj comes as hijabis continue to face discrimination at beach resorts and pools across Europe. In 2016, 30 municipalities in France banned the burkini, and while this ban was overturned by the Conseil d’Etat, which serves as France’s supreme court for administrative justice, the same body upheld a ban on burkinis in public pools in 2022, citing the principle of government neutrality towards religion or laïcité.
I wonder if European nations now banning Muslim swimwear will kick these women off their beaches too. #Burkini pic.twitter.com/zfvjDQo99z
— Hend Amry (@LibyaLiberty) August 16, 2016
Some cities in Germany also have similar burkini bans at public pools. In Italy, a group of women wearing burkinis was prevented from swimming at a beach for “hygiene reasons.” The debate over burkinis in Europe reignites as well every summer.
While the majority of Montenegro’s population identifies as Orthodox Christian, the Eastern European nation also has a significant Muslim minority; ethnic Albanians constitute about half of the country’s Muslim population, and the other half are of Bosnian ethnicity. According to the most recent census data from 2011, the city of Ulcinj is about 68% Muslim, with a similar percentage identifying as Albanian.
